The Faculty

\Say what you will about director Robert Rodriguez, but the man tips his hat to his influences.

Early on in The Faculty, written by Scream writer (that sounds like something the Cryptkeeper would say) Kevin Williamson, the characters of Stokes, played by Clea DuVall, is shown reading Robert Heinlein's Double Star (which I think would make a fantastic movie or miniseries). Later, Stokes uses her knowledge of The Puppet Masters to explain what the alien menace is up to and how to possibly defeat them.

Heinlein is one of the most important sci fi writers of the 20th century, but sadly, most people these days don't know him for much beyond Starship Troopers, and that's because of Paul Verhoeven's movie, which is more of a parody of the source material than a faithful adaptation. Just seeing Heinlein namedropped here warmed the cockles of my heart.

 
The Faculty does for alien invasion movies what Scream did for slashers: present a genre story in which the characters are hip to the fact they're in a genre story. These characters have read Heinlein, seen John Carpenter's The Thing, and know all about Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Assembled with Williamson's self-aware dialogue, Rodriguez's slick direction, and a strong cast of familiar faces, The Faculty holds up well.

As others have noted elsewhere, The Faculty is The Breakfast Club meets Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Aliens are taking over the teachers at Herrington High School, and it's up to a motley crew of student types to stop them before the invasion spreads further and takes over the world. Our heroes include Elijah Wood as a nerd, Josh Hartnett as a drug dealer, Jordana Brewster as editor of the school paper, DuVall as the goth chick, Shawn Hatosy as a jock, and Laura Harris as the new girl.

Like The Breakfast Club, The Faculty has fun with these stereotypes by revealing these characters have more dimension than at first glance. John Hughes did this to his teens to reveal their fears, insecurities, and dreams. Williamson and Rodriguez do it to play up the paranoia. Hatosy is the star quarterback who suddenly quits the team to focus on his academics; is he genuine or is he under the influence of something else? To not fall into an easily definable clique, the students raise suspicion about themselves.

The movie has fun with genre conventions, too. The highlight is a variation of the blood test scene from The Thing. Here, the characters inhale a drug that will kill the aliens that come into contact with it, but now, a tense scene has the characters laughing uncontrollably because they're high.

The Faculty also understands the us-against-them mentality students have with teachers and administrators (who always act like they don't remember what it was like to be a kid). The likes of Robert Patrick, Piper Laurie, and Bebe Neuwirth turn up to act weird and threatening toward the kids. It's not much of a stretch to imagine they're being controlled by unearthly forces, and the older cast members certainly have a ball.

There are some priceless moments when the adults say what they've always wanted say to these brats, and I'm sure the real teachers who watch the movie will smile at those parts.